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The University Library at Colorado State University – Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo) unveiled its new Archives website yesterday. The site provides links to the Archives’ online finding aids and digital collections as well as general information about the Archives’ holdings and policies.

The Archives’ Southern Colorado Ethnic Heritage and Diversity Archives (SCEHADA) is sponsored by CSU-Pueblo with a generous grant of $30,000 from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

New University Archives and Special Collections (UASC) website unveiled 7/1/09

Last night, the University Library of Colorado State University – Pueblo held a reception and presentation from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at El Centro del Quinto Sol Community Center, 609 N. Erie Ave., to introduce its newly created Colorado Chicano Movement Archives. The event included entertainment, recognition of donors, an informational presentation by Interim University Archivist, Beverly Allen, and a presentation of student research by CSU-Pueblo students, Ruth Soto and Reyes Martinez Lopez.

At the June 30th reception, the University Archives announced the acquisition of new material from Jose Esteban Ortega related to the Chicano Movement in Colorado including: photographs, a vintage collection of community newspapers and other publications documenting the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 70s from throughout the state of Colorado, rare books on Chicano history, as well as silk-screened banners and t-shirts emblazoned with movement slogans and artwork. A Pueblo resident for nearly sixty years, Mr. Ortega remains a well-respected community activist participating in the planning and promotion of annual Cinco de Mayo parades, Dia de La Raza celebrations, and commemorations to honor the deaths of Chicano activists who lost their lives fighting against social injustices in Colorado.

Please contact Beverly Allen at (719) 549-2475 or by email at beverly.allen@colostate-pueblo.edu for more information.

But when you sit down with an old-fashioned book in your hand, the medium works naturally against such distractions; it compels you to follow the thread, to stay engaged with a single narrative or argument.

I understand that the printing press revolutionized the way people thought and learned and I’m as tech-enamored as anyone. However, I just can’t help but think that some capacity for deep reflection and concentration is getting lost? Sorry if I sound like the Annoyed Librarian; am I just crazy?

Here’s a quote. “Rutgers is the only member of the Association of American Universities with a library program connected to a journalism program; the two schools merged in 1982. “Both librarianship and journalism are facing challenges,” he told AL, and through their affiliation in the school, “each of them can draw on the strength of the other.”

I read Farewell to the Printed Monograph (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/23/michigan) in Inside Higher Ed today with a fair bit of sadness. And a little skepticism. I do understand the economic reality that is prompting this announcement but I have a couple of concerns:

1. I haven’t met anyone yet who actually prefers to read an entire monograph on a computer screen, Kindles not withstanding. Sure, there are good reasons why a Kindle or other similar device is useful; like when traveling or reading in bed at night. And yes, electronic texts are useful for adaptive technology and also for full-text searching. But for regular cover to cover reading of a monograph, given the choice, most of our patrons have indicated they still prefer print.

2. I am concerned about the price ramifications of this announcement. Especially the following excerpt: “In terms of pricing, Sullivan said that Michigan planned to develop site licenses so that libraries could gain access to all of the university press books over the course of a year for a flat rate. While details aren’t firm, the idea is to be “so reasonable that maybe every public library could acquire it.”

Many small academic libraries will not be able to afford a site license for all the press e-books over the course of a year. We have never been able to afford approval plans here and even the larger university libraries are cancelling their approval plans. Especially since this would require an annual fee. In essence, libraries would gain access to more monographs, many of which fall outside of their normal collecting policies, but would have to pay every year to maintain this access – all to get the particular monograph that was desired. This also implies that perpetual ownership will only be offered as an extra charge. Unless the option exists to purchase perpetual ownership of an individual title, smaller libraries will lose access to a large portion of scholarly monographs using this model.

Furthermore, the time and expense to small academic libraries in negotiating the many licensing options and facilitating access to ebooks offered on many different search platforms may prove to be a barrier. We have already gone through this process with electronic journals. First academic libraries purchased aggregator databases, then journal packages, and now individual ejournal titles.

I highly suggest that presses study what has worked and not worked for delivery of ejournals and adopt a standard pricing model and delivery platform for academic ebooks that makes it possible for all academic libraries, large or small, to participate.

As we’ve been planning for a major remodel and expansion of our library over the past two years, I’ve actually come to develop an appreciation for this style. In essence our entire campus is built in this style, and, while some joke that it was done so that the buildings could be used as a prison if the University should fail, I think there is a certain appropriateness to both the aesthetics and scale of our buildings. We are perched on a hilltop out in the prairie with awesome views of the mountains to the West and the plains to the East. Our library is definitely a strong landmark! And, I argue, its stark style and vintage 1960s look is almost “cool” again. We definitely plan to enhance but not try to disguise the original style of the building.

However, I am looking forward to better lighting and less “vintage” furnishings!

I just heard of AccessMyLibrary for the first time today as I was listening to NPR on the way to work. The announcer read off that the program I was listening to was sponsored by “The Gale Group” bringing me access to information libraries “use” via AccessMyLibrary. Well of course that caught my attention. He didn’t say access to information “in” my library. Just information that libraries “use”. I’m pretty sure he said use not “trust” as listed in the tag line below, but I could be wrong. So I decided to look it up. The site is linked below.

Apparently, it is a site through which registered users can authenticate to GALE content their libraries have purchased if their library has also registered. The attempt is to funnel Internet researchers to GALE content. It’s pretty smart, but very commercial. The pages are riddled with advertising. And it isn’t clear to me from the FAQ on the site if people have to pay for the service or not?

Have any libraries out there signed up for this? And, if so, what are your impressions?